Justification:Cephalopholis aurantia is considered Data Deficient. Because of its small size (max. 30 cm TL) and occurrence in moderately deep water (20 to 250 m), the species is of little commercial importance as a food fish (Heemstra and Randall 1993) and potentially of Least Concern.

GeneralCephalopholis aurantia is an Indo-Pacific species found around the islands of the western Indian Ocean to Japan and the central Pacific, except for a single specimen caught off the coast of Natal (South Africa). Heemstra and Randall (1993) know of no confirmed records from other continental localities of East Africa, but there is one unconfirmed record from Mozambique (Fennessy pers. comm.). The East African record of Cephalopholis aurantia reported by Morgans (1982) is a misidentification of Cephalopholis nigripinnis.

The species is also recorded around Howland Island in the Pacific (B. Mundy pers. comm.). Australian records are based on misidentification of C. spiloparea (Hoese et al. 2006). There are no records of the species from Line or Phoenix Islands (Kiribati), Australia (Hoese et al. 2006), or Raja Ampat (Indonesia), and its occurrence in Malaysia is questionable.

Cephalopholis aurantia is a reef-associated species found on steep seaward reefs, usually at depths of 100 to 250 m, but can occur in shallower water. Museum specimens are lacking. The recorded maximum size of 60 cm TL is probably an exaggeration (Heemstra and Randall 1993).